


Mid-Semester Madness

by daejongvu



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, CBX Friendship, Gen, Humor, Shakespeare Quotations, Slice of Life, side Kaisoo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15802716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daejongvu/pseuds/daejongvu
Summary: Minseok is stressed, Baekhyun fears for his life, and Jongdae’s just trying to keep the peace with incorrect Shakespeare quotes. The CBX UniversityAU nobody asked for.





	Mid-Semester Madness

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: welcome to my first attempt at writing a proper exo fanfic (which is slightly shameful after being a veteran in the fandom)   
> Thanks to my amazing friends (kaisoochateau & poodleyeol) for holding me accountable with deadlines and giving me the prompts to start writing. Please read if you enjoy some quality CBX banter.

 

‘Well my friend, today’s the day. Minseok is actually going to _kill_ you.’

Jongdae sidesteps the mess on the floor as he moves to sit on the edge of the couch, but his words seem to fall on deaf ears. Watching Baekhyun continue to pace around the room, hands tearing through his hair, Jongdae swears he can physically see the last essence of sanity leave his friend’s body, whose current vocabulary seems to only be made up of swear words and prayers to god for mercy.

‘Would you prefer roses or carnations for the service?’ Jongdae starts but the rest of his teasing is cut off by a dirty look, followed by a wail of complete and utter anguish.

‘Jongdae, can you _please_ be serious for one _goddamn second?’_ Baekhyun groans.

‘You do realise the glaringly obvious irony in that question, right?

For once, Baekhyun doesn’t seem to have any clever comeback, and instead sinks into the spot on the couch next to Jongdae, letting his head fall in his hands. Jongdae spares his friend a momentary glance of pity before leaning back into the couch, crossing his arms while staring in disbelief at the destruction Baekhyun has managed to cause.

‘He is really going to kill me, Dae.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I really screwed up big this time.’

‘Yeah.’

Baekhyun turns to Jongdae with a bitter expression. He is peeved with his friend’s lack of compassion for his current situation, however he is also painfully aware that this is exactly how he deserves to be treated.

‘Is that the only thing you can say? Damn it, Jongdae, you are a _lit_ major for fuck’s sake. You gotta give me something, some advice, a ‘pearl of wisdom’, _or_ you know, you could just give me a damn solution to this _whole freaking mess!’_

Jongdae manages to keep a straight face at his friends comment, cause part of what Baekhyun said is true. He is indeed a third year literature major at university, however, unlike his fellow major classmates, whose interests tend to lie more in fields such as classic prose critiquing or the analysis of contemporary language, Jongdae’s special (and secret) interest lies in the world of children’s literature. As a kid, Jongdae grew up being read bedtime stories filled with tales of enchanted places and mythical creatures, and as he has gotten older, he has only grown more in love with them. He is fascinated how a few words on a page can transport you to a whole other world where you can almost become a character in the story yourself. Remembering the joy he got to experience in his youth from the books he was read, Jongdae decided early on he wanted to create stories for the children of the future.

Now, after all these years, Jongdae has the opportunity to fulfil his passion and study the Masters of his dreams in _Creative Children’s Literature._ However, to get there, he has to struggle through the university’s three year literature undergrad course, where his current class of ‘ _Appreciating Shakespeare Classics In Our Modern World’_ is strongly testing his willpower not to give up and drop out altogether. Although he has much in common personality wise with Baekhyun, after two and a half years he seems to have thankfully inherited some of the studious qualities from his other roommate, which has lead him to start bringing to life some of the Shakespeare dialogue from his readings, and incorporating them into his everyday conversations (much to Minseok’s amusement and to Baekhyun’s distress.)

‘The fault, dear _Baekhyun,_ lies not within the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.’

The tone of Jongdae’s voice indicates an air of seriousness, however he struggles to keep a straight face as Baekhyun glares at him, his eyes radiating an intensity of frenzy that Jongdae hasn’t seen from his friend before. Immediately backpedalling, Jongdae clears his throat and looks back to the floor, where Minseok’s laptop lies scattered in several pieces. Broken beyond repair, the shattered screen sits woefully on the concrete floor of the living area, with some fragmented parts of the laptop base resting over three metres away in their small kitchen. Jongdae can see the broken space bar poke out from under the fridge as he bends down and picks up another piece that he felt under his foot. He rests the small black ‘delete’ key in his palm, and is tempted to give it to Baekhyun as a present, but his better judgement decides against it.

‘What the hell did you think you were doing anyway?’ Jongdae finally questions, fiddling with the laptop key in his hand.

Baekhyun sighs and sits up to face Jongdae hesitantly, his previous frustration aimed towards him seeming to slowly dissipate into embarrassment as he starts to recount the event.

‘It was an accident.’

‘Well I sure hope it was, I don’t assume you’d set out to deliberately award yourself an early death sentence. Why did you even have his laptop in the first place?’

Baekhyun bites his lip and furrows his eyebrows. Jongdae knows this as Baekhyun’s ‘I’m _in_ the shit’ face, not to be confused with his just as prevalent ‘I _am_ the shit’ face, which involves a bit more eyebrow and _a lot_ more lip.

‘It was supposed to be a joke,’ Baekhyun concedes. ‘I was just going to hide it somewhere, pretend I didn’t know anything, watch Minseok freak out a bit, offer my services to help find it, and end the day twenty dollars richer than I started it.’

Jongdae offers his friend a concerned look but decides not to argue with his ‘Baekhyun’ logic. After all these years, Jongdae has learnt that there are some things that are definitely better left unspoken.

‘You know Minseok was up till five this morning finishing that assessment which is due today. And it’s not just any assignment, it’s his goddamn master’s thesis that he has been crafting and nurturing, oh you know, for only the last 9 months.’

Baekhyun balks. ‘No… Fuck, not his _baby._ That’s not due today, he has months lef…’ Baekhyun stops mid-sentence and Jongdae can see the cogs in his head slowly turning, desperately trying to grasp the situation.

‘What month is it?’ Baekhyun questions.

‘Shall I compare thee to an _autumn’s_ day?’

…

…

…

‘It’s September you dumbass,’ Jongdae scoffs. Baekhyun visibly twitches as the realisation dawns on him. They celebrated Jongdae’s birthday last weekend, nothing super crazy, but Baekhyun now clearly remembers Minseok not partaking in any of their drinking games as the birthday marked the last seven days before his thesis submission date, and Minseok seemed unwilling to waste any of those precious days.   

In fact, over the last three months in particular, Minseok has become even more reserved than usual. Even though they lived in the same apartment, Jongdae went from seeing the older boy several times a day to sometimes only a couple times a week when they either bumped into each other on the way to their shared bathroom, or when Jongdae tossed Minseok his flask of coffee as he made a mad dash out of the house on Friday mornings to try and make his nine o’clock lecture on time. The pile of dishes in the sink were getting out of control, and if Minseok was in his right mind, he would have definitely berated the younger boys by now. However, the usually tidy apartment was slowly starting to resemble that of a pigsty, and the fact that Minseok didn’t seem to care scared the hell out of Jongdae, and he mentally braces himself for the storm that will surely occur the day ‘the real’ Minseok makes a reappearance.

Baekhyun seems to have a mutual understanding regarding the tempest that is a pissed-off-Minseok, as he returns to his restless pacing of the living room. **‘** We need backup. If we could get someone who he respects to break the news to him, someone who he trusts, maybe he won’t get so mad. **’**

Jongdae smirks suspiciously making Baekhyun slightly unnerved. ‘I might just know a guy.’

 

***

 

_Do Kyungsoo, Do Kyungsoo_ , wherefore art thou _Do Kyungsoo?_

Kyungsoo looks up from where he is seated at his small dining table, in the midst of his studies. He has the table covered in papers, highlighters and sticky notes, a small patch of mess compared to the rest of his spotless apartment. Although, after knowing Kyungsoo for over 7 years now, Jongdae is sure the seemingly untidy table is probably in fact an organised-mess that Kyungsoo would be able to explain logically back to him with his eyes closed.

Kyungsoo leans back in his chair as he watches Baekhyun beeline to his fridge and motions for Jongdae to take a seat on the other dining chair. ‘Also, you are aware that _wherefore_ doesn’t actually mean where, it means _why,_ ’ Kyungsoo states, as he sticks a yellow tab neatly in the corner of his open textbook, before closing it and pushing it to the side.

‘What?’

‘No, _why?’_

‘Huh?’

‘It doesn’t mea… You know what, never mind.’ Kyungsoo pushes his glasses up his nose as he glances down at his watch and frowns.

‘It’s 7’oclock in the morning, on a _Saturday,_ not to sound rude or anything, but what are you doing here? You aren’t going to ask me for money again, are you? You still owe _me_ from last semester, don’t think I’ve forgotten, I have a spreadsheet.’

Before Jongdae has a chance to respond, Baekhyun returns from the kitchen in all his red-eyed, blotchy-faced glory, accompanied by the largest can of energy drink Jongdae has ever seen. Kyungsoo takes in Baekhyun’s dishevelled appearance as Jongdae takes in the can in Baekhyun’s hand.

‘It is _7’o-freakin-clock_ in the _morning!_ Why does Baekhyun look like someone just broke up with him, why is everyone at my place so early and why… Are you looking at me like _that_ Kim Jongdae…?’

‘Since when do you drink energy drink, Kyungsoo? You hate the stuff, and you always used to scoff at me when I used to buy it from the cafeteria at high school.’

Kyungsoo flinches and averts his eyes away from Jongdae’s piercing glare. ‘Well... Uh you see… It’s kinda....’

‘Hey, Soo, do you have a spare towel? The other one kinda got dir…’

Three heads turn to the boy standing in the hallway entrance, more naked than dressed with his bare chest and toned physique on display for all eyes to see, and grey track pants sitting lower on his hips than what would normally be deemed as socially acceptable.

Jongdae and Baekhyun share equally-shocked expressions with a shout of ‘WHO’ and ‘WOAH’ respectively.

‘Oh… Hi,’ the mystery boy greets the room, making no fast movements to cover up his exposed body, and instead choosing to lean against the doorframe, seemingly amused by the current situation and the reaction of the three men in the room.

Baekhyun gurgles in his spot next to Jongdae, while the latter keeps turning his gaze between his high school friend and the attractive young stranger, mouth agape in stunned silence.

Kyungsoo stands up abruptly from his chair, causing everyone’s attention to fall back to him. Jongdae notices his friends ears are definitely redder than usual before Kyungsoo slams his fist on the table and raises his voice.

‘Everybody sit down _NOW!’_

 

***

 

‘Have you brought me to a brothel?’ Baekhyun questions, receiving a hostile look from Kyungsoo and a low chuckle from the _hot-mystery-boy,_ who Kyungsoo introduced as Jongin, his boyfriend of five months. All four boys were now sat at the dining table, Kyungsoo’s study long forgotten as he swept all his papers to the side to make room for this unplanned intervention that was now taking place. Kyungsoo knew he should have just stayed in bed this morning. Who in their right mind gets up this early to study on a _Saturday?_

‘Okay, so let me get this straight, you’ve destroyed Minseok’s laptop, which held his thesis, which was due today, and you are not sure whether he has submitted it or not?’ Kyungsoo states, sharing a concerned glance with Jongdae, before looking over to Baekhyun who seems to be getting paler by the second listening to Kyungsoo’s summary. _‘Jesus,_ Baekhyun, you really are a first-class idiot. Minseok’s going to lose his shit, you can’t just get extensions on your major submissions so easily you know?’ Kyungsoo exclaims.

‘Oh, I know perfectly well. Apparently _‘death of a long-standing and beloved tv show character’_ does _not_ meet the university’s policy of reasonable justification for an assignment extension,’ Baekhyun huffs out bitterly, crossing his arms as he slouches back in his chair. Jongdae catches Kyungsoo’s confused gaze, mouthing to him, _‘long story,’_ before leaning over to pat his roommate on the back with a reassuring, ‘It’s okay buddy,’ that leaves Kyungsoo even more concerned for the boy than he was before.

‘Anyway, back to the problem at hand,’ Kyungsoo starts, and Baekhyun lets out an unflattering groan in response. ‘Let’s think about this realistically. Are you sure he hasn’t already submitted the thing? I don’t think Minseok would really leave something so important, like handing in his thesis, to the last minute.’

With both boys being psychology majors, Kyungsoo had gotten to know Minseok quite well over the last few years. Even though the older boy was a couple years ahead of him, due to their similar hard-working and studious nature, Kyungsoo seemed to naturally pair up with Minseok in all their shared classes, despite their age difference, and they soon became dependable study partners, and eventually good friends. Both boys liked to plan and be organised when it came to their schooling, however, over the last few months, Kyungsoo had noticed that Minseok was starting to isolate himself, cancelling their group study sessions in favour of staying home on his own or cramming in one of the solo study rooms at the library. Choosing not to dwell on these developments too much, Kyungsoo let Minseok do what he needed to do, knowing that this was an important and most likely stressful time for Minseok, and if he needed his space, Kyungsoo was more than happy to give it to him.

Jongdae shakes his head, thinking back to last night and the array of disgruntled noises he heard come from Minseok’s room, while he watched the TV in the living room on mute with subtitles after Minseok had stormed out, chucking a pen at his head before yelling at him to turn the damn thing down.

‘I was still up at four in the morning,’ Jongdae explains. ‘And the bear came out of his cave to make _more_ coffee, and after asking him how he was going, I was bestowed with the glare from Satan himself. If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under by now, so I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark and say no, I don’t think he had submitted yet, and I definitely don’t think he was finished.’

Kyungsoo sighs, leaning back and rubbing his hands through his hair.

‘He could create a case to the university tribunal,’ Jongin chimes in casually. ‘Intentional or reckless destruction of property carries a maximum penalty of one year’s imprisonment if the damage doesn’t exceed five thousand dollars. If Minseok can prove beyond reasonable doubt as the prosecution that this matter falls under that body of law, then he can be found as not liable to the offence, and be granted with an exemption as per the university’s legislative requirements.’

For the second time that morning, Baekhyun and Jongdae stare in shocked silence at their newly-acquainted friend, who seems quite oblivious to the fact he has just completely blown their little minds. Jongdae catches Kyungsoo give his boyfriend a quick side-glance, before bringing his hand up to try and cover the smirk that has not-so-subtly crept upon his face.

‘Damn, Kyungsoo, he’s hot _and_ smart. You should keep him,’ Jongdae chastises, prompting Kyungsoo to lean over and violently punch him in the shoulder.

Waggling his eyebrow approvingly at Jongin, Jongdae props himself forward on his elbows, leaning over across the table to get the younger boy’s attention.  ‘But Jongin, my man, can you not scare the baby? He’s already vulnerable.’

Baekhyun’s previous anguish has seemed to transform into borderline hysteria, with mutterings of _‘reckless destruction_ and _imprisonment’_ seeming to be the only coherent words to escape him, interjected by short shrills of mad laughter.

Kyungsoo reaches over to grab his boyfriend’s hand, squeezing it gently and offering him a tender smile, eyes lingering with a sense of softness that doesn’t go unnoticed by Jongdae.  ‘I think what Jongin is _trying_ to say, is from what he has learnt in his law classes, the university has rules in place to offer Minseok some leniency if he can prove that what happened wasn’t his fault or was beyond his control.’

Baekhyun snaps back to reality at that comment, eyes still slightly frenzied from Jongin’s previous statement. ‘No, I can’t get the blame, if I get in trouble _again_ with the university, I’m a goner. I’ve already failed some of my classes this year _twice,_ if I get another strike against my name, they’ll kick me out for sure. My parents will kill me. How about, I just re-write it for him, I’ve got a bit over four hours till midday, how hard can it be. What is it, only five… Six thousand words?’ Baekhyun relentlessly rambles, while his audience can only afford him pitying stares.

‘Try fifteen to sixteen thousand,’ Kyungsoo interjects cynically, but bites his tongue when Baekhyun looks up at him with teary eyes, exhaustion appearing to now take place as his leading emotion, as he rests his head in his hands on the table.

‘I’m done,’ he weeps softly. ‘This is the end of my story.’

_The end of a story?_ Jongdae thinks to himself. Of all the children’s tales and stories he has read and written, the main characters always seem to fight through their adversity and find a way to their happy ending , except in Shakespeare it seems. But Jongdae is not going to enlighten Baekhyun with the fates of Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth, not today, anyway.

‘Have you thought of sitting Minseok down and just apologising to him, asking him for his forgiveness, and then everyone will live happily ever after… The end.’

Baekhyun turns to Jongdae and stares at him like he’s just grown a second head. ‘Are you serious right now, or do you just take joy out of being a right jackass?’

‘You know, I think Jongdae is actually onto something,’ Jongin interjects smoothly, before the two roommates have a chance to rip into each other further. ‘Like I don’t believe it’s going to turn out as perfect as the fairy-tale Jongdae is imagining, but I think all you can really do now is sincerely apologise to Minseok, explain how it was truly an accident, and offer to assist him in whatever way you can to help him get an extension, even if that means writing a formal letter of apology to give to his professor. We have to accept the consequences of our actions, as much as it may hurt our pride, sometimes.’

‘Hot, smart, _and_ wise,’ Jongdae whispers so only Kyungsoo can hear, instinctively flinching as he expects to be hit in response. But instead, he receives a lightened expression from his friend, whose cheeks seem to be tickled with the slightest shade of pink, his eyes sparkling tenderly with an emotion that seems a little bit stronger than that of a ‘crush.’

‘Ugh… Why does everyone have to be so right and mature?’ Baekhyun whines, standing up abruptly from where he was seated. ‘I think everyone here knows what I have to do, including myself. Come on jackass, let’s go rip it off like a band-aid.’

Baekhyun takes one last swig of the energy drink, before nodding towards Kyungsoo in thanks and heading to the front door with Jongin following closely behind.

Shuffling closer to where Kyungsoo remained seated, Jongdae nudges his friends shoulder playfully. ‘He really seems like a nice guy, Soo. I’m really happy for you, you deserve this.’

Kyungsoo smiles openly and wholeheartedly, a sight Jongdae hasn’t seem from him in a really long time.

‘I’m sorry for not mentioning him to you sooner,’ Kyungsoo starts apologetically, but is dismissed by a wave of Jongdae’s hand.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Jongdae retorts. ‘But for real, don’t lose this one, make sure you keep him this time.’

‘I will, I promise. He really is great.’

Jongdae pats his friend on the back before leaning in to whisper in his ear. ‘You know as my brother Shakespeare would say, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust _into_ them.’  

Receiving a glare very similar in appearance to what he received from Minseok earlier this morning, Jongdae takes this as his cue to leave.

‘Beware the Ides of _Minseok,’_ he shouts over his shoulder, as he skilfully escapes his friend’s wrath, rushing out of the apartment past a confused Jongin before dashing down the stairwell to quickly catch up with Baekhyun.

 

***

 

Unlocking the front door of his apartment after returning from the gym, Minseok is greeted with an unusually eerie silence. If it’s not the blaring sound of the television that’s usually left on 24/7, he is typically graced with the noisy yells of one of his fellow roommates, which after living with them for so long, Minseok has learnt is just their normal speaking voices. Walking into a peaceful household would usually be a warm welcome for any normal person, however for Minseok, the silence is deafening, and his senses are tingling on high alert, warning him that something is not quite right. Warily making his way down the dark hallway, Minseok pauses slightly at the living room door and steadies himself for what he might find on the other side. Pushing the door open, Minseok is met with the smell of a… _Mango?_

The scent of tropical fruit wafts through the room and Minseok quickly finds the source as two orange candles are lit on the coffee table. Scanning the rest of the room, Minseok finds the apartment is absolutely spotless. The floors have been freshly vacuumed and the furniture recently dusted. Peering into the kitchen, he notices the sink is free of any dirty dishes, and the garbage bags that were piling up along the sidewall are all gone. Even the fridge has been completely cleaned out and replaced with fresh groceries. Reaching into the fridge, Minseok pulls out a half wheel of his favourite cheese that he hasn’t been able to buy in forever cause he’s been too busy to get to the shops. Not knowing whether to be filled with joy or concern, Minseok closes the fridge and is greeted by Baekhyun kneeling on the floor with his head bowed to the ground, and Jongdae who is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a mixture of both amusement and trepidation plastered on his face.

‘Please tell me you guys didn’t kill someone,’ Minseok asks anxiously, which causes Jongdae to let out a loud snort in response.

‘Not yet anyway,’ he cackles, causing Baekhyun to regress further into the ground and Minseok to shoot them both further worrying glances.

‘Then what the hell is this for?’ Minseok questions, holding up the cheese wheel in his hand and gesturing to the meticulously clean kitchen and apartment.

Baekhyun chooses this moment to lift his head up, still continuing to kneel as he takes a deep breath and forces his eyes to meet Minseok’s probing glare.

‘So, firstly… You know I uh… Love you very much right?’ Baekhyun stutters out, struggling to keep his gaze on Minseok, who seems like he is close to tearing his hair out in confusion. ‘And… Both Jongdae and I are, like, super proud of you for finishing your… Thesis which… Oh… That was due today, right? Congrats bro.’

Baekhyun glances over to Jongdae who gifts him with a thumbs up and a reassuring smile.

‘Also, I know I can be a bit boisterous and annoying sometimes… Okay, _most_ of the time, but I only do it out of love, and I promise I’ll tone it down from now on, and I’ll help out more around the apar...’

Baekhyun’s ramble is cut off by Minseok holding his hand up, a silent request for him to stop talking.

‘You have five seconds to tell me what the hell you did before I drag you to the nearest hospital and check you in for brain damage or something. Five… Four…’

Eyes widening in distress, Baekhyun glances over to Jongdae who mouths _‘like a band-aid,’_ as he imitates the action on his arm.

‘I… Uh… Maybe kinda… Might have accidentally… Broke your laptop I’m so sorry-’ Baekhyun shouts out, as he chucks his head on the ground again and starts to sob uncontrollably.

Not expecting a coherent response from Baekhyun anytime soon, Minseok sighs, looking over to Jongdae for an explanation. ‘He accidently dropped it and it got completely smashed.’ Opening up the bin he was standing next to, Jongdae pulls out a plastic bag filled with the broken pieces of the wrecked laptop, handing it over to Minseok with a piece of paper. ‘Baekhyun wrote this for you to help build your case to get an extension on your thesis. He didn’t realise it was due today, Minseok, otherwise I don’t think he would have even tried to touch it.’

Opening the bag to peer in at his destroyed computer, Minseok sucks in a deep breath as he places the bag on the ground and lifts up the letter to read.

‘Guys, I submitted my thesis three weeks ago.’

The sobbing that filled the room was abruptly cut off as Baekhyun jolted up, his face covered in tears and snot, eyes a red mess. ‘You did what now?’

‘I handed it in early to get it out of the way,’ Minseok replies calmly. ‘I didn’t want to leave it and be stressed with it right to the deadline.’

Jongdae stares at the older boy in shock, and Baekhyun beams, looking like the whole world just got lifted off his shoulders.

Crossing his arms, Jongdae frowns intensely at Minseok who chuckles at his roommate’s reactions. ‘Then what the hell was last night about?’ Jongdae fumes, remembering Minseok’s hostile interaction with him.

‘Oh…’ Minseok bites his lip in embarrassment. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have acted like that, but I was just videogaming with a really hard opponent and you were being loud as hell distracting me with whatever reality show crap you were watching.’

‘Excuse you, the Bachelor is the _epitome_ of quality content, you uncultured ass.’

‘But what about Jongdae’s birthday?’ Baekhyun interjects, causing both boy’s attention to be drawn back to him. ‘Why didn’t you drink with us?’

Reaching up to rub the back of his neck, Jongdae notices a Kyungsoo-esque pinkness to Minseok’s cheeks.

‘I… Had a date the next day. I didn’t want to get drunk,’ Minseok confesses softly, causing his two roommates to balk.

‘Oh… My… GOD, this turned out like a hundred thousand times better than I could have imagined!’ Baekhyun cries out in complete elation. ‘Jongdae, you were right my friend, everything really turned out happily ever after.’ Rushing over to Jongdae, Baekhyun pulls his roommate in for a crushing hug, causing him to squawk in distress. Turning around to offer Minseok a similar gift, he is stopped by the older boy’s stance, hands on his hips with his head cocked to the side, and his eyebrows raised with a fierce glare that causes Baekhyun to gulp visibly.

‘I think you’re forgetting something,’ Minseok questions rhetorically, lifting the plastic bag from the ground and shaking it softly for effect.

‘You…’ Minseok points directly at Baekhyun. ‘Are going to buy me a brand new laptop of my choosing tomorrow, _and_ be the sole person responsible for keeping the apartment this spotless for the next three months.’

Jongdae _‘oohs’_ from the sideline, earning a bitter look from Baekhyun and smirk of satisfaction from Minseok.

‘But I have _literally_ no money,’ Baekhyun complains.

‘And I _literally_ don’t care,’ Minseok retorts.

Looking down at the bag in his hand, Minseok seems to contemplate his next action for just one second, before upending the contents onto the ground, causing Baekhyun to scream out in frustration. After the contents have scattered all over the floor, Minseok steps over the mess to grab a knife from the drawer and the cheese he placed on the counter, before walking over to the couch and turning the television on.

‘Three months,’ he shouts over his shoulder, as Baekhyun’s wails continue to fill the air.

Completely and utterly dumfounded by the turnout of the day’s events, Jongdae scoffs at the scene before him, of Minseok flicking through the stations while Baekhyun bends down to start picking up the pieces of the laptop once again.

‘This is very mid _-semester_ madness _.’_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Incorrect Shakespeare quotes used
> 
> \- Do Kyungsoo, Do Kyungsoo! Wherefore art thou Do Kyungsoo?  
> (Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo – Romeo & Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2)
> 
> \- The fault, dear Baekhyun, lies not within the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings  
> (The fault, dear Brutus, lies not within the stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings – Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2)
> 
> \- Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust into them   
> (Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them – Twelfth Night Act 2, Scene 5)
> 
> \- Beware the Ides of Minseok  
> (beware the ides of March – Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2)
> 
> \- Shall I compare thee to an autumn's day?  
> (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? – Sonnet 18)
> 
> \- This is very mid-semester madness.  
> (This is very midsummer madness – Twelfth Night Act 3, Scene 4)
> 
> Please leave a comment (any advice for this writing newbie will be greatly appreciated)  
> also come follow me on twitter @daejongvu for jongdae/exo and kpop content


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